§ MR. J. H. YOXALL (Nottingham W.)I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he has received official information that Mr. Macpherson, a British subject for many years resident in Paris, has been expelled from France by order of the Minister of the Interior; whether the Government 194 have any information to show that the ground of the "arrêté d'expulsion" was that Mr. Macpherson had been active in arranging a conference in connection with the International Federation of Dock Labourers; and whether the Secretary of State proposes to make inquiry into the matter?
MR. CURZONHer Majesty's Ambassador at Paris has reported the expulsion of Mr. Macpherson on the ground that his presence on French territory was of a nature to compromise public safety. Her Majesty's Ambassador has been instructed that if the action of the French Government was considered to be required in the interests of public order, and if it, has been confined strictly to what was necessary to enforce the expulsion, they appear to be within their rights and the occasion for diplomatic action does not arise.